I stole a slice of bacon from his plate. “You are such an arsehole.”
Thaddeus put his sandwich down and took a sip of his cold tea. His expression turned sour, and he quickly returned the mug to the table. “So...” He looked across the table. “What’s the story with the council? I think I’ve earned the right to know what I nearly got run over by a dozer for.”
Tap grabbed the teapot and headed to the kitchen. “I’ll make a fresh pot. Coffee, Ry?”
I waved away his offer and turned my attention back to Thaddeus. “When I took over the lease on the cottage ten years ago, the contract had a right of purchase clause once the lease was up. Every other property on this road has become freehold over the last fifteen years through the same process. Mine is the only one left. I wouldn’t have signed the lease or done all this work if I hadn’t expected to be able to purchase it for the long term. Since the precedent had been set, I foolishly thought it was pretty much a done deal, but six months before the lease was due, I received a council letter telling me they wouldn’t be renewing my lease or offering the land for purchase as the property had been deemed strategically vital to futureproof the region’s infrastructure.”
“But if the buyout clause was already in the lease, they can’t just back out,” Thaddeus insisted.
I shrugged. “You’d think, right? But apparently, they can. Most local government leases include a clause that makes them subject to change with minimal notice if deemed necessary to protect local or regional interests. I knew it was there, but after fifty years and with the rest of the road having already become privately owned, I thought I was safe. I tried to challenge the ruling, but the council refused to even have a discussion.”
Thaddeus was watching me closely. “Do you know what they want it for?”
I gave a weary nod. “They weren’t exactly forthcoming with any details, and I had to get a lawyer involved. Luckily, mysister’s husband, Tim, happens to be one. He discovered they intend to lease the land to a tech company called Elosand at some exorbitant rate. Elosand’s plan is to build a data storage facility, and the big selling point for my particular property is the river. Those places use a ton of water, especially with the use of AI now.”
“Oh.” Thaddeus’s throat worked, his expression unreadable. “And you don’t think these data places are a good thing?”
I sighed. “I’m not saying they aren’t necessary. I just?—”
“They’re a scourge on the environment,” Tap grumbled, setting a fresh pot of tea on the table and pouring Thaddeus a cup. “I get that we need them for... stuff... but they use a ton of power, which jacks up prices for everyone else and pushes our power generation to the limit. The country can barely keep up with what it needs now. We had three regional blackouts last year.”
I blinked. “Three?”
“Yep.” Tap retook his seat. “I’m not blaming data centres alone—our infrastructure for most necessities is at capacity—but they sure aren’t going to help things. These companies know they’re unpopular. They rely on the fact that the average Joe Blow has no idea what they do or how they do it, and they sweeten the pot for councils by paying a fortune to lease land at a price no one else can hope to compete with. The first public meeting the council held about it was a whitewash or, more specifically, greenwash of how great it will be for the region at no cost to the average ratepayer. Unfortunately, most people bought into it.”
“It was never about futureproofing,” I huffed in disgust. “To the council, it was always about money. I have a hearing scheduled in January to fight the lease clause change. The council can’t do anything to my land before then, but my lawyer said the fenceline is a grey area because some of it does actuallystray onto council land. Unfortunately, there’s also nothing to stop them from creating access at the top of the road into their land beyond. But what theycan’tdo is cross onto my property at any point, something they need to do in order to swing their big trucks around and unload equipment. We’re safe for now, I think.”
“But you’re not sure?” Thaddeus argued. “What if they come back when you’re gone?”
“That’s a risk we’ll have to take.” Tap pushed his chair back. “We should get going, Ry. The concrete truck is due at Cumberland’s before ten.”
“Shit.” I got to my feet and walked my plate to the sink. “If they come back and manage to do what they need without encroaching on my land, then we’ll have to suck it up. Tim said it would be difficult to protest non-compliance with the injunction if they stick to the sections of fenceline on their side of the boundary. If they take enough of it down, the rest will probably fall over anyway.”
Thaddeus pulled a disapproving face. “But you said they needed to turn their trucks on your driveway?”
“That’s true,” I agreed, beginning to stack the dishwasher. “But considering the tracks already there after this morning, if we don’t actually witness them doing it again, how would we prove it? We’ll take some photos, but still. Once it’s done, it’s done. There’s no going back. They might get a slap on the wrist, but...”
Thaddeus went quiet for a moment, then he said, “I could stay... if you like?”
I looked over to where he sat with pink cheeks and an earnest expression on his face.
“I mean, I have to hang around for the tow truck anyway,” he expanded. “So, it’s not like it would be a hardship, and I don’t actuallyneedto go with them. I could... stay... at least untilyou got back and could drop me somewhere to catch a taxi or Uber or something.”
I frowned, trying to get my head around his offer. “You’d stay here? While I’m gone?”
Thaddeus rolled his eyes. “You’re doing that repeating thing again, but yes, I could stay here. It’s kind of necessary to the whole idea of me keeping an eye on the place, right? But if you’re not comfortable with me being here?—”
“No,” I jumped in. “It’s not that.” Except it was, just not in the way Thaddeus thought. Him staying here meant him being here when I got back, which meant more conversation, more looking at him, more... everything.
Tap caught my eye. “It’s not a terrible idea. In fact, it’s a pretty damn good one.”
Because of course he’d say that. It was, in fact, an appallingly dreadful idea, for all the reasons I just mentioned. But it would certainly cover the council angle, and right then, that was pretty much my number one priority. Thaddeus’s words came back to me,‘I think you’d do anything to protect your garden.’Maybe he was right, after all.
“Okay, deal,” I finally agreed. “It would certainly make my day go a lot easier knowing you’re here keeping an eye on things.”
Tap clapped his hands, then rubbed them together. “Good, then that’s settled. But you wouldn’t need to rush off,” he told Thaddeus. “Ryder has two spare bedrooms. You could stay the night, and then he could drop you wherever you want to go in the morning.”
What the hell?I raised my eyebrows at Tap, trying to get his attention, but he refused to even look at me.
